The Snowman of Haruhi Suzumiya
by SXR123
Summary: With Christmas only a week away, Haruhi decides she wants to build the worlds largest snowman, but what's with her weird mood swings? oneshot.


_**Hey guys! It's me again! Back for another oneshot for you all to enjoy! I was in the Christmas mood and decided to write up a little story since I had some spare time. I hope you all enjoy this little love story I decided to write on a whim!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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I've never been a big fan of Christmas.

Being forced to put up decorations as a kid, and then again with my little sister, was always the norm at my place and I didn't have too much of a problem with that.

I could never match the cheery mood that everyone else seemed to have at this time of year, though, because I've never been a real cheery fellow. So when my cheerless attitude remains constant throughout the holidays, people tend to view me as some kind of grouch. I assumed this Christmas was going to be the same. True, I am celebrating the holiday with a few more people than I did last year, but I honestly didn't expect there to be much of a change in the cheerfulness department.

However, when a certain girl is involved, nothing EVER stays the same; at least not with me.

"Kyon, look!" Haruhi was pointing at the gargantuan snowman that was towering above us. "We finally finished it!" She looked at it with a smile so bright I was surprised our sculpture didn't melt.

I had to admit, I was really enjoying this change - because I felt as happy as she did.

This all started about a week ago, a week before Christmas, at the end of class. Haruhi had her nose deep into a book of world records. I knew she was brewing up an idea, but I had no idea what it would be.

The end-of-class bell rang loudly, signifying the start of winter break. I was packing up my things when I noticed Haruhi still had her face in the book. Even as she stood to pack up her belongings, her eyes never left the book.

I didn't want to leave her behind as she walked toward the door in slow motion, so I decided match her snail-like pace - which she maintained as we walked through the halls. It took almost triple the time to get to the clubroom and I had to make sure she didn't trip over anything on the way here.

Our Brigade leader sat down in her chair and refused to look away from the book. Honestly, I was starting to get a little worried. Even Nagato's obsession with reading wasn't this intense.

Finally, an hour had passed in the clubroom. Koizumi and I were playing a game of Othello while Ms. Asahina brewed some more tea. Without warning, Haruhi slammed the record book shut so hard the blast echoed off the walls. She looked up with a big grin and a delighted chuckle.

"I know what we're gonna do!" She was looking at me when she said this. "Starting tomorrow, we're going to beat the record for the world's biggest snowman!"

I looked at her with disbelief. "Wait a second, you want to build the tallest snowman ever built?! Isn't the record like, over 100 feet or something?!"

"How tall the old one was doesn't matter!" She slammed her hands down onto her desk. "We're going to make it taller!"

I heard Koizumi chuckle. "My, that's quite the big project! Are you sure we can do it?"

Koizumi, stop egging her on!

"I've no doubt in my mind!" She gave him a thumbs up.

Haruhi stuffed the book into her bag and walked to the door. "Oh, by the way." She looked back to us. "We're going to finish this by Christmas! It's my gift to the world!"

The door slammed as our brigade leader left the premises.

I looked at the door with disbelief.

Koizumi looked to Nagato with his annoying plastic smile. "Ms. Nagato, how tall was the tallest snowman?"

"One hundred twenty-two feet and one inch," she replied, without glancing away from her book.

Ms. Asahina looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Heck, even Koizumi looked a little befuddled. Sure, he'd fought giants twice that size, but building one? That's a whole different story.

And we only have a week to do this? What on earth was this girl thinking?

Then again, with Nagato's help we could finish the job in record time. But would that be right?

I looked at Nagato. She looked at me with her emotionless eyes. Yet, I sensed something behind them. Was it… excitement? Her expression hadn't changed but I could tell that something was different.

I guess enlisting Nagato's expertise couldn't hurt. After all, if we didn't appease Haruhi, we might end up in big trouble. I don't know about you, but I'd like my winter vacation to consist mostly of vacation - with the tiniest portions possible of running around for my life.

Sighing, I packed up my things and made my way for the door. "Alright then. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I waved, shut the door, and commenced my slow walk home.

Wednesday morning was not a pleasant one. Haruhi had not given us a place or time to meet. I figured she'd give us one later in the day, and planned on sleeping in a little. I should have known better because around 9 AM my cell phone roused me from a deep sleep. After having the meeting location screamed into my ear, I quickly got dressed and made my way to the designated spot.

When I finally arrived everyone was present and decked out in snow gear. I took a moment to analyze the surroundings. I had to admit, Haruhi chose a great spot to build this snowman.

Since the athletic field wasn't being used over the break, it was covered with snow. Not only did this provide us with plenty of room to build this monstrosity, but it provided us with the raw materials we needed as well.

Ms. Asahina was wearing pink jacket with yellow gloves. The plaid scarf wrapped around her neck completed her ensemble. She looked so cute…

Nagato wore a thick brown coat sporting a hood that laid loosely on her head. Four straps kept the coat tightly wrapped about her torso, insuring her body would stay warm. I don't think she needed it though. Could she even feel cold? That was a question I needed to ask her when I got the chance.

Finally, Haruhi wore a large white jacket with a furry hood to keep her face warm, not that she needed it though. The coat was buttoned up. The red gloves that kept her hands warm were thin enough to give her hands a wide range of motion.

Though I couldn't care less about Koizumi, he looked warm enough in his plain black jacket and white scarf.

I wore my green jacket with a blue striped scarf.

Haruhi gave me a look that kind of made me shiver. So I slowly made my way over to her. "You're late."

I scoffed, "I apologize, it's not like I didn't have any idea where we were going today. Oh wait, I didn't!"

Haruhi turned away to gather some snow. "You should have asked then. Everyone else did."

I looked to everyone and to my surprise they all supported Haruhi's assertion with nods and nervous smiles. Sighing, I accepted the fact that I was left out of the loop and sincerely apologized to our leader.

Oddly enough, Haruhi's energy seemed to low today. She was so pumped up for this yesterday, I was surprised she wasn't radiating heat. Instead, she looked tired. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, but I sure did.

With Nagato's help, we completed the foundation of the snowman in less than four hours. By the time we were done for the day, at 7 PM, we were nearly halfway finished with the bottom section of the snowman.

Haruhi chose to build a traditional snowman in three sections with the biggest section at the bottom, a medium sized section in the middle, and the smaller head topping things off.

While we looked at our day's accomplishment with awe, Haruhi looked like she was ready to throw in the towel. After everyone else said their goodbyes and left, Haruhi fastened her gaze on the snowman.

Curiosity got the best of me so I walked over to her. "Hey, Haruhi. Are you alright?"

She was silent for a moment but finally looked at me. "Yeah. I'm Ok." She looked back at the snowman and frowned. "I'm just… a little confused right now." She looked away and then towards the ground. "Hey, Kyon…"

"Yeah?"

"…What kind of gift would you like for Christmas?" She looked at me for a moment before looking away.

I was a little confused, why would she ask me what I wanted? Isn't the whole thing supposed to be a surprise? "I… Honestly don't know."

For a second, I thought I heard her laugh. "Yeah, me neither…" She sighed. "Anyway, I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow, Kyon."

I watched her leave before looking back at the snowman.

I was starting to get the feeling that there was more to this snowman then Haruhi was letting on. But I decided not to think about it too hard and left for home. I was tired, exhausted and cold. I didn't feel like thinking about anything else… besides my bed, which I promptly fell into as I entered my room.

Endeavoring to avoid Haruhi's unpleasant wake up calls, I planned to arrive before 9 AM the next morning.

In a strange turnabout, Haruhi's mood did a complete 180 from yesterday. She was jumpy, energetic and just in an all around better mood. With Haruhi as her usual self, the day went by a lot faster than it did yesterday. It was also a lot more enjoyable.

By the end of the day, we had completed 3/4ths of the snowman's bottom section. If it hadn't been for Nagato, I doubt we'd even be at the halfway point. Haruhi's improved mood definitely sped things up. I couldn't help but smile a little as she inspected the day's accomplishments.

It was about 8 o'clock, so Haruhi told us to go home.

Well, everyone but me.

I waved as our friends left and then leaned against the gate as Haruhi finished examining the base. She exuded approving chuckles as she tried her best to spot anything out of place.

Apparently there was nothing, so she finally walked over and leaned up against the gate next to me.

"So, Kyon. About my question yesterday."

I looked over with a curious expression. "Yeah?"

"Have you thought of what you want?"

I don't understand, why is she so dead set on getting me a gift? "I can't say I have. It's not something I usually think about." I looked up at the sky. "What about you? What do you want for Christmas?"

She looked at me and then at the snow, as if there was some kind of answer for her there. "…Well, sort of. But I'm not sure if it's the right gift for me."

What the heck is that supposed to mean?

She let out a sigh. "Well, there are actually two things I want. But I'd settle for just one."

Haruhi was seriously starting to confuse the hell out of me. What is it with her and all these vague answers and questions? Would it be so hard to just give me a straight answer? "I see."

Haruhi's voice got kind of low. "Yeah." A tiny smile made its way onto her face before she stopped leaning and began to walk away. "So, Kyon. Would you mind coming over tomorrow to my place after working on the snowman?"

I was a little surprised. Haruhi was suddenly asking me over? Was this some weird set up? "U-Um. Sure, it's not like I have any plans tomorrow."

Another smile crossed her face. Not a mischievous one. And it wasn't a real excited smile either. It was just your average, genuine smile. "Cool." She gave a small laugh before finally turning away. "Then I'll see you tomorrow!" Her slow walk turned into a jog before she was finally out of sight.

No matter what happens, I don't think I'll ever understand that girl.

I gave up trying as I once again made my way home. As I got ready for bed, I let my mind drift. I began to imagine what Haruhi had planned for me tomorrow. Was she going to introduce me to her parents or something? Did she want me to move some furniture in her house?

The more I imagined, the less pleasant the scenarios I dreamt up got. I had no interest in moving furniture. So I made sure my expectations for tomorrow were extremely low. I fell asleep, imagining more and more awful schemes that this girl could put me through. Kinda strange when you think about it.

The next day was another pleasant winter day. Everyone arrived early, with Haruhi being the last to show. Her mood today seemed to fall between the previous two days. I know I should have been focusing on the snowman, but I couldn't help but wonder what was causing these weird mood shifts.

The day's snowman building progressed at a painfully slow pace. Ms. Asahina seemed to be getting sick so Haruhi had Koizumi to take her home. I felt under the weather myself since I was invited to Haruhi's, I felt it would be a little insulting to just leave.

With our team cut nearly in half, we only managed to finish the top of the base section. Considering we were halfway through our week deadline, things were not looking good.

Haruhi didn't seem to mind too much. She still smiled when she looked at it. At 7:30 Haruhi decided it was time to head home.

I'll be honest, despite my low expectations I was still kind of excited, or at the very least curious, to go over to Haruhi's today.

Our walk was silent for the most part. Haruhi didn't seem to be in a very talkative mood as she led me to her house. When we finally arrived, I was surprised at how big her house was.

The house was two stories tall; its roof covered in sparkling white snow; its walls covered with white vinyl siding. If it hadn't been for the windows, the house would have blended seamlessly into the snowy backdrop.

As I viewed her house with awe, Haruhi waited at the door. "Come on!" She sounded impatient, so I quickly followed her inside.

Haruhi closed the door behind me and brushed herself off. "Well, here it is," she said in a low tone.

The inside of her home was looked amazing. Hardwood floors flowed to stairs that led up to what looked like more bedrooms. When she led me to what I guessed was her living room, there was a distinct lack of noise. I didn't hear a TV or a radio or the sounds of dinner cooking in the kitchen. The house was silent. In addition a majority of the lights were off in the house.

Which begged me to ask the question, "Haruhi, where are your parents?"

Haruhi was quiet for a moment. "Not here," she responded, sitting down on the couch. By this time she had stripped down to her basic clothing; a T-shirt and some jeans. She stretched a little as she relaxed on the couch.

I wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"…OK, well, where did they go?"

I noticed their Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Below it were two or three gifts, neatly wrapped with ribbons placed nicely on top. Haruhi had yet to answer and was just gazing at this tree.

Finally, she answered. "My dad's a businessman, so he has to travel a lot, especially during the holidays." Her gaze moved to the floor. "My mom's a fiction writer and she's got deadlines she needs to keep. So she travels with my dad so she can get ideas." There was another smile on her face, but it seemed forced and unnatural. "They get pretty busy, especially around Christmas."

I sat down on the other end of the couch as I listened to her story. Haruhi brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She shook her head and seemed to come out of her daze, "A-Anyway, um." She stood up suddenly, "I'll go get something for us to drink."

She rushed by me and ran to the kitchen. After a few minutes, Haruhi came back with two glasses of water in her hand. She set one down in front of me and then plopped down right next to me. After that, she simply sat there, staring into her cup. It was a little unnerving to say the least.

Haruhi is usually so jumpy, so energetic. Seeing her this sedate and spacey was kind of unsettling. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if she forgot I was here.

"Haruhi."

Her head shot up and her glass shook in her hand, "Sorry, I kind of spaced out."

I tried to make some kind of conversation. "So anyway, I really like your Christmas tree." I stood up, walked over to it, and gave it a quick look over. "Did you put up the decorations yourself?"

"Mmhm." She walked next to me and grabbed one of the ornaments. "I like to add one new ornament every year." She held it up in the light for me to see. "You remember last year right? When we did that Christmas play?" She held it lightly in her hand, smiling as she did this. "I took a piece from your reindeer costume and put it together on this ornament here."

The way she smiled at that ornament made me feel… really warm inside.

I was so mesmerized that I forgot where I was for a moment. When I was suddenly brought back to reality, I shook and knocked one of the ornaments down from the tree.

The sound of one of the fragile ornaments crashing onto the hardwood surface filled the room. "Agh! Damn it! I'm sorry, Haruhi!" I bent down to pick up the broken pieces.

"Don't worry about it." She knelt down next to me. "This is a cheap one anyway."

I picked up what I could, despite her suggestion.

When we finished picking up the fragments, we both stood up. Haruhi didn't take her eyes off of the mess in her hands. "Just give me what you got."

I sighed and slid what I had into her hands.

I had the feeling that anything I did was going to bring her mood down. The way she responded, the way she was acting, even the expressions on her face was just depressing. I wanted to probe, but I didn't want to overstep my boundaries.

I checked the time. It was nearly 10 PM.

She looked back at me. "Well, I have to get to bed, so I'll talk to you later alright?"

"Sure, I'll see you tomorrow." I made my way to her door, opened it, and stepped outside.

"Um, Kyon…?"

I looked back.

She was fidgeting with her hands. "Would you, um… come over again tomorrow?"

The way she asked took me by surprise. I had never seen this side of Haruhi. And I wasn't sure if I liked it. She definitely wasn't like this last year.

A small smile grew on my face. "Alright then."

The smile she returned made my heart skip a beat. It was by far cuter than anything Ms. Asahina could have produced. And that's saying something; she's supposed to be the 'moe' character in our group. Haruhi may just give her a run for her money.

"Thanks a lot." She let out a deep sigh, and at that moment her mood seemed to instantly turn around. "Alright then! I'll see you tomorrow!" She energetically waved goodbye as I closed the door.

I was having trouble keeping up with Haruhi's mood swings. First she's dead inside, then she's more energetic than a fly, and then she's a mixture of both! Make up your mind Haruhi! I have no idea how to act around you right now! I sighed and made my way home. I went to bed as soon as I walked in the door.

Yep. You guessed it, Sunday morning Haruhi's mood shot straight up.

At least this time I was sort of able to guess why, though. Still, it was just so strange.

Ms. Asahina was still absent - most likely she was still sick - but Koizumi and Nagato showed up. Despite Ms. Asahina's absence, we made good progress. I hate to say it but she didn't contribute too much to the snowman when she was here. She certainly tried though.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and was surprised when I turned to see Koizumi.

"Excuse me, Kyon. Could I speak with you for a moment?"

I rolled my eyes as he gestured to the other side of the snowman. I followed him over to listen to what he had to say.

"I'm sure I know the answer to this already, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. Have you noticed Ms. Suzumiya's odd mood swings lately?"

So he did notice something was going on. "Yeah, I did. Did you just put it together today?"

He laughed as he packed a little bit of snow on the base of the snowman. "Of course not. I noticed it on the second day. But I wanted to be sure that it wasn't just some coincidence." He climbed up the base and began packing snow on the second section of the snowman.

I followed him, struggling to get some good footing as I did so. "So why bring it up now? Is there some closed space or something?"

He reached his hand out to me and helped me up. "No, not yet. Which is what worries me." He brushed some snow off his jacket. "As you know, the closed spaces are directly linked to Ms. Suzumiya's emotions. Considering the odd mood swings she's been having, I'm rather surprised we haven't seen any pop up in the last few days. Nor do I have any idea why she's been having these mood swings."

He had a point. I could kind of guess why, but the way she was acting didn't make sense. It was pretty obvious that she missed her parents, but that didn't explain why she was happy one day and depressed the next. If your parents take off for a week, then it would make sense to be depressed all week long.

But as soon as Friday rolled along, she was more upbeat than a kid in a toy store. Was she just acting happy on Friday? I didn't think so. When Haruhi is upset, everyone is sure to know about it.

"Well, I was just curious as to what you thought." Koizumi knocked me off of my train of thought and continued to work on the snowman. "I'll give you a call if things start going south." His plastic smile remained intact as he packed more snow onto the snowman.

His smile STILL bugs me.

Since Ms. Asahina wasn't here, we were forced to work on the snowman until 9 PM, our longest day so far. With the Christmas deadline looming - it was only three days away - I guess we were making up for lost time. We managed to reach the halfway point though, once again thanks to Nagato and her inhuman speed. And yet, with the world record in mind, this snowman looked a lot smaller than what I had imagined it would be.

After we bid our goodbyes, I followed Haruhi back to her place.

Haruhi's upbeat mood made my visit less awkward, unlike yesterday when I felt as if my words could have knocked down the whole house.

"Alright! You and I are going to watch a movie!" She pulled me upstairs and stopped in front of a closed door. "This is my room," she said, turning around. "You're the first person outside my family who's come in here, alright?"

Should I feel honored? I wasn't sure. Not having had anyone in your room outside of family can be taken two ways. It could be taken as, "You have been given a privilege, feel grateful you get to look upon my room." Or, it could be a sign that a weird person has scared everyone away to the extent that they didn't have any friends TO come into their room.

"Did you say something?"

Damn, she catches on quickly. "What? No, of course not."

She frowned. "You had better not laugh."

I rolled my eyes. "What on earth is there to laugh about? It's just your room."

She hesitated before grabbing the handle. Obviously this was a much bigger deal than it seemed to be at first. "Y-Yeah." She twisted the handle and slowly opened the door.

"…Here it is." She flipped on the light, finally revealing Haruhi Suzumiya's room.

Now before I continue, I'd just like to point out that I am a very levelheaded person. Haruhi is just your normal high school girl - except maybe for her ability to warp and bend reality to her whim. I wasn't expecting anything supernatural in her room, but what I saw was definitely not what I was expecting.

Her room turned out to be similar to my little sister's room, but with a more mature theme. It looked like an average teenage girl's room. Sure, there were a few posters up that struck me as weird, but nothing really out of the ordinary. Hell, I even saw a few stuffed toys sitting on her bed. Nothing extravagant, but they were there.

Some mystery novels and science fiction books lined her bookshelf, along with a few DVD's about aliens and time travel. But overall, this looked like an average room.

"Why are you standing there so quietly?" Haruhi's question quickly brought me out of my head. "Are you looking for something, Kyon?" She glared at me, no doubt wondering what I was staring at.

I put my hands up in defense. "I was merely checking out your room."

Her left eyebrow arched slightly. "And?"

"Looks nice."

She eyed me for a moment or two before finally mumbling something to herself. Then she continued her search for the movie. Hold on…

"Wait, why are we watching a movie anyway?"

Haruhi took out several DVDs and put them aside. "What else are we going to do?" She picked up one of the DVDs and looked at it. "I mean, if you've got an idea I'd be happy to hear it."

I groaned. "I don't think you're getting my point, did you just invite me over to watch a movie with me?"

She lowered the DVD and paused for a moment. Finally, she looked at me. "Was there another reason for you to come over?"

Jeez, I was so confused. What on earth was she thinking?! "Well, no, I don't think so… but, I thought there was something else you wanted to do besides watching a movie."

"And what exactly would that be?" She glared at me with her hands on her hips, sounding a bit upset.

I reflexively took a step back. "E-Eh… Never mind."

She walked over to me, obviously angry. "Is it a chore for you to come over to my house, Kyon?"

"Of course not! I don't mind coming at all! It's no problem!"

She threw up her hands. "Then why are you making it sound like it is?! Is watching a movie so horrible? Am I that annoying to you?"

Wait, what…? "What on earth are you talking about? When have I ever said you were annoying?"

She sighed and put her arms down. "Well you haven't said it, but the way you're acting around me…" She hung her head a bit. "Just forget it." She walked over and grabbed a random DVD from the pile and brushed past me.

Seriously, what just happened? Usually she has a reason for the things she does. If the movie had something to do with aliens, time travelers or espers, she could have said it was for research purposes. But just watching a random movie?

…Since when has Haruhi been so normal?

Someone may claim that Haruhi Suzumiya acting normal is a good thing. But me? No, I know this is a bad thing. This is a sign that something is definitely wrong with her. But Koizumi said there hadn't been any closed spaces lately. What did that mean?

I followed her downstairs. I was certain my coming today was a good thing. Maybe I could figure out what was wrong with her. Maybe I could stop whatever crazy thing might happen before it happens.

When I walked into her living room, two cups were sitting on the table. Haruhi was curled up on the couch with a blanket around her - and a blank look on her face.

"Haruhi?"

She glanced at me for a few moments. "Hey."

I waved back. "Listen, um." I scratched the back of my head. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad up there, it's just… usually, you know, I was…" Ugh, I couldn't seem to get the words out. "I guess I was expecting there to be some other reason for you to ask me over."

Oddly enough, she smiled as I said this. "It's fine."

I grabbed my cup and sat down next to her. For a few minutes, silence filled the room. Then...

"To be honest, I did invite you over for another reason."

I was a little surprised at her honesty, so instead of emphasizing that I was right, I decided to ask, "What was it?"

Haruhi turned away, shifting her gaze to the wintry scene outside the window. "I wanted to ask you a question."

"What… did you want to ask?"

She sighed. "Remember when I asked you what you wanted for Christmas?"

It took a second for me to recall what she was talking about. "Oh, yeah. I didn't know, and you said that out of the two things you wanted, you'd settle on one. Right?"

She was still looking away, but she nodded. "One of those things was that… I'd want my parents to come home for Christmas this year. And since I doubt that'll ever happen…," she turned her head toward me, "would you… spend Christmas with me, Kyon?"

My eyes opened in shock. "I-I…" Spend Christmas? How should I respond to this? Do I even want to spend Christmas with her? "You see… I…" I didn't have anything to say. I couldn't reject her, but spending Christmas with her… would my parents even be okay with that? "I'm not sure that…"

Suddenly, she stood up. "AGH! Never mind! It was stupid to ask you this!" She grabbed my arm and tore me away from the couch; my drink fell from my hand.

"W-Wait! Haruhi!"

She pushed me forward down the hall toward the door. "Forget I asked you, alright? I shouldn't have asked you!" She opened the door.

"Just hold on a second, I haven't answered—" I was trying desperately to get her to listen, but once Haruhi makes up her mind, she won't listen to anyone.

Haruhi pushed my winter clothes into my hands and then, with all her might, she threw me out the door. "Just… Just leave me alone, alright?" Her voice wasn't angry… it sounded depressed. "I'm sorry I even asked."

My hands pushed on the door, struggling to keep Haruhi from closing it.

"Haruhi, just wait a second! At least let me—"

Haruhi stopped pushing for a second and I dropped my arms. She spoke through the crack in the door. "Kyon, just… go home, alright?"

I couldn't see her face, but from the tone of her voice I could tell that it was pointless to try and reason with her right now. "…Alright." I stepped back.

"I…I'm sorry I asked." The door slammed shut and I could faintly hear the sound of her footsteps going up the stairs.

I sighed and shivered as I suddenly became aware of the cold December air. I quickly put my snow gear on and made my way home. "Damn it, Haruhi…," I mumbled to myself.

Tomorrow was going to be a total headache.

…Or so I thought.

But no, apparently our little 'fight' yesterday, if you could call it that, had no effect on our hyperactive leader. In fact, Haruhi's mood had skyrocketed compared to yesterday.

Yeah, I was confused.

On a related note, the snowman we were building was nowhere near 100 feet tall. Hell, it wasn't even 50 feet tall! Did she even notice? Or had she already gotten bored with the idea of trying to beat that ludicrous record in a week. Even with Nagato's superhuman assistance, there was no way we could possibly reach 120 feet in one week.

Suddenly, as I was diligently working on the snowman, I was violently jerked away from it. To my unsurprised self, there stood Haruhi, her million-watt smile shining brightly; I swear I felt the burning heat on my face.

"Kyon! I've got fantastic news!" she finally said, after pulling me away from our friends.

After she let my arm go, I gave it a quick turn to make sure my bones were still in place. I thought I heard something crack. I wasn't sure. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"My parents! They're coming home before Christmas!" Haruhi was almost jumping. "The deal my dad was negotiating got signed a lot earlier than he expected! So my parents are going to be home early!"

The smile that spread across her face put her usual one to shame. She was literally jumping for joy. "That's amazing, Haruhi!" I said. She must have put her god-like powers to work.

Then I remember Koizumi once saying that if Haruhi believes something isn't true, even though she wants it to happen, it most likely wouldn't happen. Was this one of the rare times when it did happen?

Haruhi sighed. "Well, I just wanted to apologize for yesterday." She turned around to face the snowman. "I really shouldn't have asked you a question like that, I mean, I'm sure you want to spend Christmas with your family, right?" She turned back with a sweet smile.

"…Ye-Yeah." I laughed nervously; I honestly didn't know how to respond to that. Of course I want to spend Christmas with my family. As much as I dislike the holiday, I still enjoy being with my family. But seeing Haruhi as upset as she was yesterday bothered me. And I really didn't mind spending the day with her. It was just a difficult choice.

"Anyway, we need to get to work. Something's bugging me about that snowman."

Is it the fact that it's 100 feet shorter than you wanted it? That might be it.

With Ms. Asahina back and working hard on the snowman we were able to finish half the of the snowman's head. I'm surprised Haruhi didn't make us stay after to finish the head, but I guessed she was excited and wanted to get home to start preparing for her parents return. With Christmas only two days away, I'm sure she was determined to get the place looking spotless. It's probably why she dismissed us at 7 PM.

"Alright you guys! Be back tomorrow at 10 AM sharp! I won't tolerate any tardiness!" she said while waving her finger in the air. "We need to make sure that our head is perfect! If not, this snowman will be a complete failure!" She smiled. "Alright, dismissed!"

With that, she turned and dashed for her house. I could only laugh as she disappeared through the gate.

Before I could turn to leave, Nagato, Koizumi and Ms. Asahina accosted me. The three of them gathered at once - this couldn't be good.

Koizumi smiled. "Excuse me Kyon, do you have a minute?"

I sighed deeply. "It seems like I'm going to have one, regardless of my answer."

He laughed an annoying laugh. "I apologize for the abrupt stop, but the three of us are a little concerned. Miss Nagato will explain."

Nagato stepped forward. "Suzumiya's sporadic mood shifts are having a negative effect on the surrounding data." In her robotic tone, she continued, "I have received reports of data errors occurring at several locations throughout the city." She then looked to Koizumi.

He stepped forward, "Just as we've feared, Ms. Suzumiya's odd mood swings have started causing massive explosions of closed space everywhere. In the city, outside of the city, even at the far reaches of Japan." He looked up at the sky. "They're coming so fast it's hard for us to keep up. It seems as if they've been waiting until today to start." Koizumi glanced to Ms. Asahina.

"Umm…" She fiddled a little. "There have been disruptions in the time flow… and it seems the temporal ripples created by Ms. Suzumiya's emotions are much more disruptive than before." She stopped for a moment, weighing her words carefully to make sure she didn't reveal any classified information. "Well, to put it simply… wait no…"

The expression that gripped her face as she concentrated on this task was funny. Unfortunately Koizumi stepped in to ruin the fun.

"The three of us need to take tomorrow off to deal with these problems." He stepped forward. "We'll be informing Ms. Suzumiya tonight, so you'll need to keep her busy tomorrow. Alright?"

A loud groan erupted, "Guh… fine, I'll do what I can." I looked back to the snowman, "At least we don't have a lot left to do. We should be able to finish the head tomorrow by ourselves." I took a step back. "Now, I really need to get home. We're putting up a few decorations and my mom will be furious if I'm late."

Koizumi laughed. "Understood. Hopefully I'll see you on Christmas." He turned and walked away, waving as he left.

"Merry Christmas, Kyon!" Ms. Asahina waved goodbye to me as well.

Nagato watched them both leave. "Happy Holidays." Her monotone voice lacked emotion, but I knew she had good intentions.

"Thanks, Nagato. I'll see you on Wednesday."

She nodded and turned to leave.

Well, it seems I had the easiest job. Or the most difficult. It all depended on how tomorrow would play out. But since Haruhi's parents were coming home, I didn't think I'd have much to worry about.

With that resolved, I made my way home and went to bed.

The next day, the final day, there were no words to describe Haruhi's excitement level. She did look tired though; she must have been up late preparing for her parent's return today.

Nevertheless, Haruhi and I diligently worked on the head of our snowman. Haruhi brought cans of spray-paint and forced me to find the rocks needed for our snowman's face.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, no, these were not small rocks. They were ridiculously huge. Not big enough where lifting them was impossible, but you try carrying rocks big enough for a 20 foot tall snowman's eyes and mouth!

After I lugged these heavy rocks up to the head, Haruhi told me where to place them on our snowman's bare face. I placed them, then Haruhi helped wedge them into place. Finally, we sprayed each rock dark black.

We made our way to the base and looked up at our creation. I was pleased to see that Haruhi was smiling her infamous million watt smile. I can't say making this snowman was fun, but looking at the finished product definitely brought a smile to my face.

"Hmm… I don't know, but something about it feels… off."

No way. There's no way. "What on earth could be 'off' about it?!"

"…doesn't it seem a little small to you?" She was eyeing it from top to bottom with her hand on her chin.

A little is an understatement. "I don't think we broke the world record, but I think it's big enough."

She eyed it for a moment. "Something still feels off about it."

"Well, do you know what it is? Maybe we could fix it before Christmas."

She squinted and looked at it again. "I'm not sure…" She sighed. "Even so, I'm satisfied with it. We did a great job." She smiled at me. "Thanks a lot for helping, Kyon."

Well, as long as she's satisfied with it. "Don't mention it, Haruhi." I yawned and checked my watch. It was about 5 PM. "Alright, I'll see you later." I waved and turned to leave, but was stopped by Haruhi's sudden shout.

"Wait!" She ran in front of me, cutting off my escape path. "I want you to come over!"

"W-What?!"

She took a breath. "I want you to meet my parents!"

I was beyond confused at this point. Her parents were returning home. What more use could she have for me? "Haruhi, why the heck would you want me to meet your parents?"

She gave me a nervous look. "Because they asked about you."

Well, that was a shock. "Wh...Why?"

She growled, "That doesn't matter! Just come with me, alright?" She walked over and grabbed my arm.

I sighed. "Alright, let me just tell my mom I'm going to be late." I guess giving into her demands one last time before Christmas couldn't hurt. I texted my mom and followed Haruhi to her Christmas-filled house.

When I stepped inside the house, I was definitely not expecting to see what I saw.

It seems I underestimated just exactly what Haruhi could do when she was REALLY determined.

I looked around, taking in Christmas decorations as far as the eye could see. The inside of the house was literally covered with decorations. There were wreaths hanging from the front door and on the walls, red and green lights shining behind them, more lights strung along the walls and staircase... and much, much more.

"Haruhi, this is amazing…" It was ridiculous what she had been able to accomplish in one night.

As we both admired her efforts, she replied, "Yeah, I went all out." Then she turned toward me. "But since they're not here yet, why don't we just pass the time?"

That was Haruhi. Moving forward without a plan. Though it irritated me a little, I was glad to see it.

So we did what she suggested. Haruhi had a few games that we played for a while. We also watched a movie she was dying to watch. It had an interesting story to say the least. The characters included a Russian Santa Claus, an Australian Easter bunny and plenty of other weird versions of the holiday characters. I did like it though.

After the show, Haruhi had a few more games in the basement that we played to kill time; ping-pong, table soccer and even a dartboard. And yes, she beat me in each and every game.

For a while, I worried that Haruhi had made up the fact that her parents were coming home. I figured she was doing all this to get me to stay at her place for Christmas. But as the evening progressed, I noticed that her energy level was decreasing. She wasn't getting tired, but she was definitely getting depressed.

Finally, at 11 PM, Haruhi stopped everything. She just sat there on her couch and stared at the Christmas tree in their living room. I offered to get us some drinks. She barely acknowledged me. I put a cup in front of her and sat down beside her on the couch.

The next 20 minutes seemed to take hours to pass. I couldn't just leave her here like this, so I told myself I would stay until midnight. Technically, I'd be spending Christmas with her.

"Kyon…?"

Haruhi surprised me when she started speaking. "Yeah?"

She stopped again, as if she hadn't heard my response. Haruhi looked like someone who just lost all hope. "…My parents aren't going to be here before Christmas, are they?"

Though she had asked me a question, she was obviously making a statement. Still, I had to respond. I glanced at her clock; it read 11:26 PM. I looked back at Haruhi whose eyes never left the tree. "I don't think so, Haruhi."

As if on cue, her home phone began to ring.

Haruhi slowly walked over to it, and with the smallest amount of effort, picked up the wireless handset and brought it to her face. "Hello?"

She was silent for a few moments. I could faintly hear the voice emanating from the other end of the receiver, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Mhmm." She began to murmur into the phone. "Yes." After that, she was quiet again. The voice on the other end began to give a very long and, from what I could gather, detailed explanation. "I understand, Dad. Yeah, I know." Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Then I heard the voice say something, though Haruhi hesitated to respond.

"Yeah, I… love you too…" The handset beeped and went dark, indicating that their conversation was over.

Haruhi stood there with the phone at her side, and she began to tremble. I noticed her hand was tightening around the device.

"RAAAAHH!" Without warning, she whipped the handset into the other room. The sound of it hitting the wall and then the floor filled the house. Before I could say anything, Haruhi bolted for the front door, put on her shoes, and ran outside.

"HARUHI!"

Dammit! What the hell is she doing?! She's going to freeze to death! It's got to be like 6 degrees out there!

With little time to spare, I threw on my jacket and put on my shoes. I also grabbed Haruhi's coat before bolting through the door and chasing after her.

"Haruhi!"

The only place I imagined she would go was the snowman. So I followed my gut and ran as fast as I could towards the athletic field.

When I arrived, sure enough, there she was, standing smack dab in the front of the damn thing.

By this time I was huffing and puffing and I was sure Haruhi could hear me. I took a minute to catch my breath before talking to her.

"Haruhi… what—"

"Go home, Kyon!"

What the…. "What? What are you talking about?"

She turned slightly. "Just go home, alright?! My parents aren't coming, so you don't need to be here anymore!"

I growled, "You must be crazy if you think I'm just going to leave with you standing here in the snow!"

She turned around completely. "GO HOME ALREADY, KYON!"

"No! I'm not leaving, Haruhi!"

The angry look on her face began to dissipate as a confused look took its place. She turned her head and fell to her knees. I got a little closer before she started talking. "That was my dad…" She was speaking in a tone of voice I'd never heard from Haruhi. "He told me there was a misunderstanding. There was an issue with the contract. So they have to renegotiate a few points."

I walked up next to her and put her jacket over her shoulders - she quickly grabbed it and pulled around her. "So they probably won't even be home until after new years."

I tried to think of a proper response. I wanted to say something that would lift her spirits, but what can you say to something like that besides, "I see..."?

Small streams of tears were flowing from her eyes. "They promised they'd be home, Kyon." She wiped them away with her arm. "It's not fair…"

"I know, Haruhi."

I couldn't imagine what she was feeling right now. After all her ups and downs, it was no wonder that she finally lost it.

"I'm sorry, Kyon." She sniffled a little before wiping more tears from her face. "I made you stay with me on Christmas Eve. Just because I wanted you to meet my parents." She sighed. "I probably ruined it for you."

"That's not true." She gave me a surprised look. "I had fun today." I smiled. "I may not have been able to meet your parents, but that doesn't mean we wasted time together." I looked up to the snowman. "So…"

This part was a little awkward for me.

"…So what?" Haruhi asked.

I coughed. "I may not be able to spend Christmas with you…"

She sighed. "I know…"

"But, why… um… why don't you spend Christmas with me and my family?"

She was at a loss for words. "R-Really?"

I stood up and turned away; my face was starting to get red. "Yeah, it's fine with me."

Ah, damn it. Why was this so awkward?

"Your parents won't mind?"

I shook my head. "I'm sure they'd love to have you over. I'll just tell them that your parents are out of town. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you joining us."

I know I sounded like Haruhi right now. I was totally assuming all this. I had no plan. What if they said no? I'm not saying they wouldn't say yes, I mean, they probably would. But there's still that chance they could say no, right?

"If… If you say so…" She stood up and brushed the snow away from her knees. "By the way, I think I figured out what was wrong with our snowman."

Haruhi dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a small can of red paint. "We never signed it!"

She shook the can violently and spayed the letters "S.O.S" on the top of the base. Then she emptied the can writing all of our names below it.

She took a step back and admired the work.

"Take a look, Kyon!" Haruhi stared at the gargantuan snowman that towered 20 feet above us. "We finally finished it!" Her smile was so bright, it was a wonder our sculpture didn't melt into a big messy puddle.

I smiled. Haruhi may be a pain in the butt sometimes. But I couldn't say I wasn't enjoying this. Seeing that smile on her face made it all worthwhile.

"Merry Christmas, Haruhi."

After that, the two of us ventured to my house. As we walked, I texted my mom, informing her that Haruhi was with me because her parents were stuck out of town. In my imagination I could see my mom smiling as she used her cell phone's small buttons to craft a reply. As I suspected, my mom had no problem with that. My friend would be welcomed with open arms.

Hey, maybe there really was something to all this holiday cheerfulness.

When we walked inside my parents and little sister were sitting in the living room. "Miss Suzumiya!" My little sister immediately ran over to Haruhi and gave her a big hug. My parents also welcomed her. My mom took Haruhi's coat and offered her a warm drink. The five of us shared eggnog and conversation by the tree as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer played on the TV.

The clock struck midnight, officially ushering in Christmas.

Haruhi immediately blended in with my family. In fact she had more energy than anyone else in the room.

Though she tried her best to stay awake, my little sister conked out before 1 AM. My dad carried her up to her room and my mom followed. They were calling it a night as well.

My parents had felt a little guilty that Haruhi didn't have anything to open but she assured them that she was definitely getting a gift today. She didn't say who it was from though.

What gift could she be talking about?

Haruhi and I watched a few more minutes of another animated Christmas show before we decided to settle in my room. I gave her my bed and I was going to sleep on the floor.

"Hey, Kyon?"

I came into my room after brushing my teeth. "Yeah?"

Haruhi was sitting on my bed with her legs draped over the side. She patted the sheets next to her, suggesting I sit down.

I groaned a little, but sat down nonetheless.

"I wanted to thank you for letting me spend Christmas with you and your family." Haruhi had a warm grateful smile on her face. "And thanks for not leaving me at the snowman."

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad you came over, everyone really enjoyed having you here." I yawned and leaned back a bit. "I had fun too." I glanced at my clock, which read 1:34 AM.

"Well, I just wanted to say one last thing." She yawned as well. "Remember when I said there were two things I wanted for Christmas?"

"Yeah. What was that second thing anyway?"

She laughed. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

"…What? Why?"

"Just do it, alright?"

I groaned, "Alright, alright," and I did what Haruhi asked.

"No peeking, ok?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to peek." I didn't see what this has to do with her gift. But…

Just then, I felt something warm press against my lips. It was a soft, mushy feeling. Despite my promise to Haruhi, my eyes snapped open as soon as it happened.

But before I could get a good look, Haruhi was already back in her position next to me. I was totally confused. "Wh…What did…"

Her face was a deep red as she smiled. "Merry Christmas, Kyon."

* * *

_**I really did enjoy writing this. I really love Christmas so making something with Kyon and Haruhi was a lot of fun. I'm sorry if anyone seemed a little OOC and that the ending is probably a little generic, but this was just something I did because my favorite holiday is coming up.**_

_**To those who read this, please, leave a comment or a review and have a very merry Christmas. Or a happy holiday to whichever holiday you're celebrating this time of year.**_

_**Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to Alfonso ling! He proofread and really helped improve the story! So props to you man, thanks a lot for your help!**_

_**Well, until next time you guys!**_

_**~SXR123**_


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